Nigerian filmmaker Dr Donald Oluchukwu Iheonunekwu’s film, ‘Osu,’ has emerged as the Best Indigenous film in Toronto, Canada.
The film won Best Indigenous Film at the Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival (BINFF) – part of the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) ecosystem.
For Iheonunekwu, the award is more than personal.
‘This award is dedicated to the Igbo language. We have to do more for our culture,’ he said.
Iheonunekwu has anchored his filmmaking on the belief that indigenous languages survive when they are lived and when stories are told through them.
Rather than blame the status quo, he chose cinema as his contribution to keeping Igbo visible and relevant – producing films substantially in Igbo and documentaries exploring Igbo history and civilisation.
His documentary ‘Journey to Igbo Civilisation’ won Best Documentary at the Abuja International Film Festival in 2022 and repeated the feat at VILLAFEST in 2023.
Another defining chapter came during his first visit to Kigali, Rwanda, where he encountered stereotypes about young Igbo men.
He turned the experience into ‘A Trip to Kigali,’ shot in Lagos and Kigali, which explores identity, perception and how Africans view each other. He served as actor, co-director and producer on the project.
The film won Best Narrative Feature at the 2026 TAFF International Film Festival in Dallas and also clinched a Best Actress award.
‘A film can do more than entertain; it can challenge stereotypes, preserve culture and reshape global perceptions,’ he noted.
His latest honour, ‘OSU,’ tackles one of the most difficult subjects in Igbo social history – the Osu caste system, which for generations subjected people and their descendants to discrimination and exclusion due to inherited status rooted in traditional religious practices.